The Alliance of Survivors
Major Lee Junhyeok listened to Jeong Yeeun’s report in silence. At first, his brow furrowed slightly, but as the story unfolded, his expression grew increasingly grim. When she finally finished, he let out a long, heavy sigh.
“...Damn it. The country is completely falling apart.”
He looked straight at me then. “So, what stance has Gongdeok Station decided to take?”
“For now, we’ve decided to side with the ‘Civilian Government.’”
As soon as I said that, the tension in my brother’s face melted away, replaced by a faint smile. “Well done.” He reached out and ruffled my hair, a gesture so familiar it felt like a reflex. “...Stop that,” I grumbled, my face flushing, but Lee Junhyeok just ignored me and didn’t pull his hand away. “Still, credit where credit is due.”
Jang Yeeun watched us and let out a soft chuckle. “You really do seem like a brother,” she teased. I didn’t respond. Strangely enough, I didn’t actually mind the touch.
Then, Lee Junhyeok steered the conversation back to business. “Anyway, the operation at Chungjeongno was a success.” His expression turned serious again. “We managed to secure as many supplies from that station as possible. You won’t have to worry about logistics for a while.”
“Is there enough food?”
“We scavenged everything we could. We secured ammunition and a significant amount of medical supplies, too. Of course, we couldn’t carry it all, so the rest was transported to Aeogae Station.”
“...Aeogae Station?” That was when I realized something was off. “Wait, are there people at Aeogae Station?”
Lee Junhyeok paused for a moment before nodding slowly. “Yes. There were survivors at Aeogae Station. And... when we arrived, it was already occupied by some other guys.”
“Other guys? Don’t tell me... the Military Government?”
“...A vigilante group.” Major Lee Junhyeok sighed deeply and continued. “The reason it took us longer than expected to get back was precisely because of Aeogae Station.”
I listened quietly.
“Surprisingly, there were people there. They had just been cut off from contact.” He stopped to gauge my reaction before continuing. “Aeogae Station was originally surrounded by law enforcement agencies like the Mapo Police Station, the Western District Court, and the Western District Prosecutors’ Office. Because of that, there were quite a few armed police officers, and that ultimately made their survival possible.”
I nodded slowly. “So that’s the vigilante group.”
“Right.” Lee Junhyeok crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “They happened to be doing construction near Exits 1 and 2, and Exit 2, in particular, was designed like a complete piece of shit—”
“...How was it designed like a piece of shit?”
When I asked, Lee Junhyeok let out a short, dry laugh. “The elevator is right in front of the subway entrance. Because of that, it was relatively easy to defend against the swarms of infected.”
“Does that mean... they were able to defend it with just civilians?”
“Exactly.” Lee Junhyeok nodded. “The leader of the people guarding Aeogae Station is a man named Lee Yeonggeun. His rank is Superintendent. He’s the Chief of the Mapo Police Station. The reason people follow him is simple: he led the survivors and protected them from the infected, and because of that, they stayed alive.”
“How many people are there?”
“Hundreds. It’s not as big as Gongdeok Station, but it’s a force that can’t be ignored.”
“But...” I stared intently at Lee Junhyeok. “The infected were passing through from Chungjeongno toward Gongdeok Station like it was a free pass, right? If there were people at Aeogae Station, shouldn’t they have been wiped out by the infected immediately?”
Lee Junhyeok gave me a meaningful smile. “That’s the interesting part.”
“...?”
“Because of the screen doors, Aeogae Station didn’t have anyone stationed on the fourth basement level where the platforms are.”
My head spun for a moment. “...Does that mean the infected couldn’t get past the screen doors and just walked right through?”
“To be precise, the infected didn’t even think to open the screen doors, and since the people defending Aeogae Station had abandoned the fourth basement level, there was no reason for them to block the infected moving toward Gongdeok Station.”
I let out a dumbfounded laugh. “Wow... so that’s why we thought Aeogae Station had been breached.”
“And that’s why the people at Aeogae Station couldn’t reach us, either.” Lee Junhyeok uncrossed his arms and turned slightly. “Anyway, thanks to that, the police force formed the backbone of the vigilante group, and we were able to reinforce our troops at Aeogae Station.”
He paused, sighing as if exhausted. “When we started fighting and making noise with our gunfire, the people at Aeogae Station sent men down under Lee Yeonggeun’s command, and we made contact. At first, they were tense, thinking we were infected, but the moment they confirmed we were the ROK Army, their attitude changed.”
I listened in silence.
“They must have been anxious, being just civilians. So they were cooperative. Thanks to that, we reinforced our troops at Aeogae Station and moved on to Chungjeongno Station. Now our force has grown to about 300 people, and although we had skirmishes with the infected along the way, we were able to advance faster than expected.”
I nodded, urging him on. “So, what’s the state of Chungjeongno Station?”
“...Well.” Lee Junhyeok grimaced. “Chungjeongno Station wasn’t breached by the infected from the outside. It was a case where the infection started from within.”
I sighed at his words. “In other words, the defensive line itself was fine. The infected didn’t attack the station; the infection started inside, so the defensive lines on the upper levels remained intact.”
I already knew that, but I had to confirm it. “Then... the cause of the infection?”
Lee Junhyeok looked at me and smirked. “I think your theory was right.”
“...Mosquitoes?”
“The station was crawling with puddles and mosquitoes.”
I couldn’t help but sigh. “So, what’s the state of the interior of Chungjeongno Station?”
“This is the more interesting part...” Lee Junhyeok crossed his arms and leaned back. “I don’t know who did it, but the uphill transfer passage from Line 5 to Line 2 was blown up and blocked.”
“...What?”
“There were swarms of infected beyond the blown-up wall, but there were relatively few left inside Line 5. And the important thing is, Line 5 was packed with supplies.”
I felt a chill run down my spine. “Were those supplies originally there?”
“Likely.”
“Then... did they blow up the transfer passage on purpose to protect them?”
Lee Junhyeok nodded slowly. “Probably.”
“By whom?”
Lee Junhyeok was silent for a moment, then lowered his voice. “Most of the infected on Line 5 were wearing military uniforms.”
I held my breath. “Maybe... some of the soldiers sacrificed themselves to protect the supplies right before they died.”
“...So, we secured the supplies that were there?”
“Yes. We just had to seal off the escalator heading toward Line 2, and we were able to take possession of the supplies easily.”
Lee Junhyeok spread out a map and pointed to a few spots, continuing his explanation. “For now, we filled the puddles with dirt and rocks. It was too much to do any real construction.”
I nodded as I listened. “We blocked off all the paths toward Seodaemun Station and cut off the infected as much as possible. We took as many supplies and as much fuel as we could, brought some to Gongdeok Station, and moved the majority to Aeogae Station.”
“To Aeogae Station?”
“Right. Aeogae Station has a well-built defensive line, so it’s much more advantageous for storing supplies. Since the defense of Exits 1 and 2 is so solid, it can hold out even with relatively few personnel. I judged that Gongdeok Station has too many open spaces, which makes it too risky to store large-scale supplies.”
“Then what about the people at Aeogae Station?”
Lee Junhyeok smirked, resting his chin on his hand. “They were cooperative. We built trust while conducting joint operations. And they know it, too. They know they can’t hold out for long on their own.”
I nodded, relieved. Thank goodness. Just then, the conference room door opened slightly, and someone entered cautiously. The moment I saw him, I knew exactly who he was. A man dressed neatly in a police uniform. But the blood and dust staining his clothes and his weary eyes told the story of the days he had endured.
“...Superintendent Lee Yeonggeun.”
He hesitated for a moment before raising one hand in a light greeting. “Hello. I am Lee Yeonggeun.”
Lee Junhyeok stood up to welcome him. “You’ve arrived safely, Superintendent.”
“I felt I needed to meet the representative of this place in person.”
Lee Yeonggeun’s gaze shifted to me. I stood up, leaning on my crutches, and faced him. “We wanted to meet you as well, Superintendent.”
Superintendent Lee Yeonggeun sat down and immediately got to the point. “Aeogae Station doesn’t have any issues with groundwater seepage, and the defense is quite advantageous, but...” He sighed deeply and interlaced his fingers. “The station is too small.”
I listened and nodded quietly. “I had already anticipated that.”
Aeogae Station is small, and there isn’t enough space for evacuation. It’s good for using Exits 1 and 2 as defensive strongholds, but it’s far too cramped for a large number of people to stay in.
Superintendent Lee Yeonggeun looked at me and spoke carefully. “So... I would like to relocate our personnel to Gongdeok Station. We would leave only the defensive troops at Aeogae Station.”
The conference room went quiet. Lee Junhyeok crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes in thought, while Jang Yeeun stood beside me, arms crossed, quietly observing my reaction.
Relocating the people from Aeogae Station to Gongdeok Station. This meant hundreds of new survivors would be entering Gongdeok Station. Gongdeok Station already housed nearly 1,500 people. If we accommodated the people from Aeogae Station here, the population would exceed 2,000. Space issues, food shortages, security problems... everything would double.
“...How many defensive troops are you thinking of leaving at Aeogae Station?”
Lee Yeonggeun answered immediately. “At least 50, up to 80 is possible.”